A few weeks ago my nephew Jacob and his girlfriend Aubrey came to my house for dinner, and these spicy pork kabobs flavored with red wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame, garlic, peanut butter, and red pepper flakes were one of the things we cooked. I was intrigued by this marinade when I spotted it in Costco Connection magazine, and the marinade recipe, which can be used on beef, pork, or chicken, was originally from Cooking for Dads. Using a marinade like this helps keep lean pork moist when you're grilling it, and everyone agreed that the flavor in these kabobs was fantastic. I increased the amount of peanut butter, and we wanted a bit more spice, so I'm upping the red pepper flakes in the recipe I'm sharing, but you can decide how spicy you'd like it when you make them.

Mix together red wine vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, lime juice, and peanut butter and whisk until peanut butter is mixed in. Then add minced garlic and red pepper flakes and whisk again. I did this in the morning so the pork pieces could marinate most of the day.

Put pork strips and marinade into a plastic Ziploc bag or plastic bowl with a snap-on lid, and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours, turning a few times if you're home.

When it's time to cook, thread the meat pieces on to kabobs. I love these double skewers which keep the meat from sliding around, but if you only have single skewers, it helps to fold the pieces of meat over before you skewer them, then press them together so they're tight on the skewers. Let meat come to room temperature before you put them on the grill.

Oil the grill and preheat to medium high heat, then cook kabobs about 15-20 minutes, turning several times so you can get some grill marks on each side. Kabobs are done when they're firm, but not hard, to the touch, or when meat temperature reaches 160F/70C.

Grilled Pork Kabobs with Spicy Peanut Butter, Sesame, and Soy Sauce Marinade
(Makes 4-6 kabobs, recipe adapted from Cooking for Dads. This marinade recipe can be used on beef, pork, or chicken.)

Combine red wine vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, lime juice, and peanut butter, then whisk until peanut butter is mixed into the other liquids. (This will take a little stirring to get it smooth.) When the mixture is well-combined, whisk in the finely minced garlic and red pepper flakes.

Put pork cubes into Ziploc bag or plastic container with a snap-on lid, then pour in marinade. Let the pork strips marinate 6-8 hours in the refrigerator, turning it a few times if you're home.

When you're ready to cook, remove the pork strips from the refrigerator and drain the marinade. (I used a colander placed in the sink to drain the pork pieces.) Thread kabobs onto skewers, folding each piece over so they won't spin when they're cooking. Let the pork pieces come to room temperature while you oil the grill with olive oil or non-stick grilling spray and preheat grill to medium-high. (You can only hold your hand there 2-3 seconds at that heat.)

Grill kabobs, turning several times with tongs so you get nice grill marks on each side. Kabobs are done when the pork feels firm, but not hard to the touch or when meat reaches a temperature of 160F/70C on an instant-read meat thermometer. We cooked our kabobs about 15 minutes, but actual cooking time will depend on the temperature of your grill and temperature of the meat when it's put on the grill. Serve hot.

Be sure to use lean pork and natural peanut butter without added sugar if you're making this for the South Beach Diet. Otherwise, everything here is a low-glycemic ingredient, and this recipe would be approved for any phase of the South Beach Diet.

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I just got some pork chops that would be perfect for this recipe! I used part and stuck the other ones in the freezer. I think they are coming back out to thaw, because I can't wait to try this recipe, Kalyn. :-)

Hello, I just started my first day of Phase one and could not have planned out the week of meals without this blog. I think everything looks great and I really appreciate the time and photos on here. Wish me luck and any tips are welcome. I had the egg muffins for breakfast and they were a success, white chili and green salad for lunch. I know the two weeks will be tough for me but this will help out tremendously.

Kalyn, I just stumbled upon your blog and I love it! Thank you, thank you for sharing these delightful recipes. I am just starting out on my SBD journey and I love to cook. Your blog has alleviated one of my biggest fears--getting into a rut!

Hi- I'm new to Kalyn's Kitchen. My husband and I are back on SB Phase One for a tune-up after five years or so. We got slack about our eating habits...

I found your site on Sunday, and made the pork kabobs tonight. Delish! Our 12-yr-old daughter enjoyed them too.

We found ourselves wishing that they held more of the marinade. I'm wondering if you could take some of the marinade that drains off, boil it up for 5 minutes for safety and then have a dipping sauce? I may give that a try next time.

Too bad I didn't see today's cucumber and avocodo salad in time to go with tonight's dinner! Thanks for a great collection of recipes- I am off to find tomorrow night's dinner...

I used this marinade on pork tenderloin as well a while ago. It was amazing, husband loved it. I am making it again for dinner tonight! Thanks for the great recipes, Kalyn. I really do love this site and can spend an hour just looking through it to find something new and interesting for dinner. Shhh, but sometimes when I need a break at work work I visit Kalyn's Kitchen.

I attempted this tonight and I have to say I was disappointed. I found the vinegar overwhelming. I don't know if maybe its because it marinated overnight but it was pretty strong. I think I will keep looking for a variation of this as it was a great idea and very easy to put together.

Yes, since the recipe says marinate 6-8 hours if you marinated it overnight the vinegar taste would be much stronger. You might try it and marinate only the amount of time the recipe calls for, or use a bit less vinegar and marinate less time both.

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